Using Time Boxing to Your Advantage

One of the most effective ways that you can keep your tasks at work well organized and in-line with all your goals is time boxing. This has become a popular practice, not only because it is easy to do and is practically free to use without any need for software downloads or upgrades, but because it has proven to be really very reliable and effective. Here are some of the ways you can take advantage of this technique to its full potential.  

It is pretty easy to make use of this technique. All you’d need would be a timer and something to write your tasks on – you can go old school and make a list on a notebook, or go with the times and create a very simple excel or word document for the list. You can then list down your tasks according to their relevance or importance. You could start with the important ones and go down to the least important but necessary tasks. You then need to allocate certain amounts of time for each task, depending on how much time you think you’ll need to accomplish the task. Don’t worry if you can’t be certain about the time the tasks need, you can always adjust along the way.

When you have made your check list, be sure to set your timer for every task. You can choose to make it a continuous time, or you can take small breaks in between tasks. You can then concentrate on one task at a time, and make sure you do nothing but the task you have delegated for that amount of time. This is one of the advantages of time boxing, because if you get to finish the task earlier than expected, you can take the extra time as an addition to you mini-breaks, to help lessen feelings of being rushed or stressed.  

As it allows you to concentrate of one task at a time during your work day, time boxing also allows you to keep track of your progress. The technique requires you to keep a timer, and to cross out or mark the task that you have finished. The sound of the alarm or buzzer, or whatever reminder you have set up to alert you when each tasks’ time is up will signal the end of each task. This also signals you to stop what you’re doing and mark the task done. So you are aware of every task that you finish and therefore are able to keep track of your progress and how far along you are on your list of tasks.